Rearrangement of ferroelectric domain structure induced by chemical etching

Abstract

The rearrangement of the domain structure induced by chemical etching has been observed in periodically poled MgO-doped stoichiometric lithium tantalate single crystals. Topographic and piezoresponse scanning probe microscopy have been used for measuring the etching relief height and domain wall position after etching. The considerable shift of the domain wall during etching by pure hydrofluoric acid has been revealed by analysis of the experimental data. We have found that the wall motion proceeded after the termination of the etching procedure. We have shown that the whole consequence of the domain wall positions during etching is recorded in the etching relief height and can be extracted with high spatial and temporal resolution.

Electromechanical Imaging and Spectroscopy of Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials: State of the Art and Prospects for the Future

“…Local polarization switching in ferroelectric materials with a PFM tip has emerged as a promising approach for ultrahigh density data storage 117,118 ferroelectric lithography 119 and nanostructure fabrication based on acid dissolution 120 and metal photodeposition reactions 52,121–126 . Subsequent imaging of the switched domain is used to understand domain nucleation and growth mechanisms 127 and relaxation kinetics, 128 from which the effect of macroscopic defects, 129 microscopic disorder, 130 and surface state on domain wall dynamics and pinning can be inferred.…”

Fine surface processing of LiNbO3 single crystals by maskless etching using NF3 system gas plasma RIE

“…When such single crystals are used in devices, they must be precisely micro-fabricated. To micro-fabricate the substrate of this crystal, wet-etching with HF has been used [2][3][4][5][6][7]. The reason why LiNbO 3 single crystals can be etched is that the constituent Nb 5+ and Li + cations can be successfully removed by HF 2 − .…”

“…This phenomenon can be applied to deep etching without a mask, using LiNbO 3 single crystals with partial polarization reversal, whose -Z and +Z parts are formed on the same surface. The etching of LiNbO 3 without an etching mask has been investigated using the difference of etching rate between the +Z surface and the -Z surface [2][3][4][5][6][7]. However, HF is unsuitable for mass production because it is dangerous and involves problems of waste liquid treatment [9].…”

In situ investigation of formation of self-assembled nanodomain structure in lithium niobate after pulse laser irradiation

“…The avoiding of etching procedure is especially important as it was shown that the nanodomain structures can be partially destroyed by etching. 16 The PFM measurements were realized on the basis of Probe NanoLaboratory NTEGRA-Aura (NT-MDT, Russia).…”